


Klaus, 1968

by Darci



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Canon Gay Relationship, M/M, Short & Sweet, Vietnam War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-11-25 19:30:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18170459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darci/pseuds/Darci
Summary: The war was a lot of things.





	Klaus, 1968

The war is hell. Shells and napalm rain out of blue skies, and men scream scream scream all night. There is never enough food, nor rest, as they roam Charlie's country, their boots brimming with muddy water and their skins burning in the tropical sun. Klaus is never sure where they are going, but wherever it is they never seem to get there. His boots tear at the seams, his metal helmet thickens with grime, and pieces of the dead are scattered all around.

 

The war is bliss. With Dave by his side everything is not only bearable but beautiful. They dance in pulsing Saigon nightclubs, under throbbing neon lights or the fireshow of bombs. Blood is liquefied garnets, the wailing wounded a background siren song, and Klaus and Dave swim dreamy-eyed through the muggy air. Klaus never wants to wake up.

 

The war is confusion. Men's insides spill outside. The afternoon sky is black with smoke, the night sky sunny with flames that eat villages. Enemy and ally are impossible to tell apart; friend and foe, dead and alive, all crammed on top of each other. Where are they going? When will it end? Is that guy alive or dead? Klaus can't tell because the guy is weeping with his legs gone but they all weep all the time, whether their hearts are beating or not. Ghosts jabber in English and Vietnamese, living combatants yell in the same. Is it day or night? Did they win or lose? Klaus thinks they have probably all lost.

 

The war is clarity. For the first time in as long as he can remember, he is clean. No popping pills or snorted powder or needle bruises. He's aware of his body in a new way, appreciates the strength of legs as he and Dave run from bulletstorms, revels in the nimbleness of fingers cleaning and firing guns. Smoke is crisp on his tongue, sunburns make him laugh with joy. All this time he thought Ben was the dead one but now he's alive, and when Dave kisses him he sees-- for the first time-- a future.

 

The war is gone. Klaus, like all those dead and living before him, weeps.


End file.
